European football has moved into a major dispute with FIFA after UEFA member associations unanimously backed a potential boycott of FIFA competitions over plans to involve private investors in the organisation of its tournaments.
UEFA said its national teams would refuse to participate in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions as long as proposals to give external investors ownership stakes in a new FIFA subsidiary remain active.
FIFA announced plans to establish a subsidiary valued at around $20 billion to manage the World Cup and other major events. Under the proposal, outside investors could acquire stakes of up to 20 percent in the new entity.
UEFA strongly rejected the idea, arguing that football’s biggest competitions should remain under the control of the sport’s governing bodies rather than private investors. The European organisation said the World Cup is not an investment product and represents a sporting legacy created over generations by players, national teams and supporters worldwide.
UEFA also called for the proposal to be abandoned completely. It said European national teams would only return to FIFA competitions if the plan was withdrawn in its entirety and FIFA provided binding assurances that its governance and competitions would not be opened to private ownership in the future.
The English Football Association supported UEFA’s position, saying it stood alongside its European counterparts.
The dispute has also attracted criticism from other major football confederations. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF have both expressed concerns about FIFA’s plans, particularly because they said they were not consulted before the proposal was developed.
The disagreement could create significant uncertainty for international football if the boycott threat remains in place. The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to take place in Brazil next year, while FIFA is also preparing to stage its first Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan in October.
